Foto Friday vol. 31 - School Picture

Gracie - 1st Grade
...and her very first school picture!

This picture is many years (and the efforts of many) in the making!
This is the first year Gracie has been able to attend school full-time outside our home. She started out part-time last year (with me as her "aid"), but was in the hospital on picture day, was out sick on the make-up day and then we moved! So, when the picture day information was sent home last month, I was, to say the least, excited. I just wanted her to have a school picture... and though I wanted it to turn out cute, cute was not the point. The picture itself, regardless of her expression, pose, etc., was totally the point.

I was not there to witness (or supervise!) the "photo shoot," but knew that she was in good hands between her aid, her teacher and everyone else who was there. That afternoon, I was told that two shots were taken and had they tried their best to get a good one. Carol (an aid from the upper grade class - - the same one who kindly took Preston on the parade route last week) actually laid on the floor to prop Gracie up on the seat they use (why these companies don't provide supported seating is beyond me!), while her aid, teacher and several others tried to get her attention focused on smiling in the direction of the camera.

When we received both photo packages and were told we had to choose just one (or pay for both), John and I were elated to be choosing between two adorable, yet very different photos. However, making the decision proved to be more difficult than we anticipated! It took us days! In the end, this is the one we chose (we are still hoping the company will allow us to keep both since they're already printed). We love it because she looks so grown up and carefully posed, as though she had practiced in her mirror the exact amount of grin she wanted in her picture.